Jumps and Stuff About Stuff

Nobody has said they hate the "Jumps" so I'll continue to use them on long posts when I'm posting regularly. If you hate it, for Pete's sake, let me know.

Posts have been scarce lately, I've found myself a bit disinterested. It isn't just that readership is off - again - it is also that the news either has been disinteresting or about something I know little about. I don't know a darn thing about Mumbai's disasterous attacks and to judge from the news about all anybody actually does know is that a bunch of terrorists shot the place up. I do have an opinion - that really sucked - aren't you glad I told you?
With 50 or so days to go to swearing in, the news is really strange. Obama isn't President and the stock market seems to like him talking. Bush is out of sight and people wonder what he'll do to screw the incoming administration. People don't know what to make out of appointments Obama hasn't made yet and, of course, drama surrounds Hillary - pointlessly boringly. Banks continue to get bailouts and GM's workers get slimed with lies about wages - $77 per hour versus the reality of $28 plus benefits to about $35 so that class warfare can continue unabated before that Obama guy gets in office and the Republican spin (lie) machine can get going on him with a head start. Republican Congressmen act as though they had no hand in the looting of the Treasury and take preemptive shots at Obama, the socialist. It certainly is amazing how loss of Presidency and any large role in Congress frees them to be the asshats they'd like to be.

Thanksgiving came and went with Chuck gimping around with a sprung back and short on Thanks. My wife and I had T-day dinner at a really nice place we'd tried a couple years ago and been unimpressed and gave another chance to this year - so we could be unimpressed all over. You'll note I don't name it and since I'm not a reviewer and buffets aren't their thing I'll be fair and not name them. This also was the last time around for that idea.

Not much for Thanks? Well, GWB isn't gone yet, his economy is going to linger, and there's little chance Obama can do much about what has become virtually endemic - war on the worker. I've got my health...sort of, hopefully Monday I can stand to work. I'll make this last month's house payment - late, and other bills are problematic. My wife has stayed out of doctor's offices so what I owe them hasn't gotten any worse - just later. I'm wondering if I can hang on, and wondering what I'll have to sell and how bad a beating I'll take on what it is actually worth. Kinda like selling stocks in a bad market, except that's not something I have to worry about - anymore than the winning lottery tickets I don't buy. One kid is my parent's revenge on me and the other is clear across the continent, no more than a couple hundred miles short of how far you could get in the lower 48. Sarah Palin keeps infecting my news, so Thanks for her going away are yet to happen. Gus, the 150# Pyrennese has turned into a shedding machine and I can't find a market for all that high quality fur and my wife is giving me ugly looks daily for the white fur rugs. Nothing wrong with him, I take a gallon bucket of compressed hair off him and there's a lot left, every time I comb him. Yes, comb - a brush is pointless so I use a horse mane and tail drag comb. He likes it for awhile (never the tail) and then he doesn't want to cooperate and that's a hell of a lot of uncooperative dog so we stop.

I've been playing Xbox 360 Oblivion - The Elder Scrolls, for about the third time. Every once in awhile I can put it on the HD big screen with massive surround and that is really cool, otherwise I use the 15yr old rear projection 48" with Hughes stereo. Odd how effective the sound is with the speakers within 48" of cabinet. That game has hundreds of hours of play time available in one game so trying it in different scenarios isn't boring. Over the years I've lost most of my interest in TV shows other than news and occassionally movies.

Blogging still interests me in the aspect of putting my thoughts down in writing, though I'm not interested in trying the "great American novel." I've found that commentary and analysis fit me better than out and out creative writing. Short story writing bored me after I realized that I was writing what I'd already read done much better by others and a novel would just be a very long version of the same exercise. Besides that, it's nice to have somebody read what you've written. Blogburst picked up several of mine last week, one in Reuters and two in Chicago Sun-Times, went from a month of zeroes to 18K impressions in one day, nothing newer than a week old. As I noted, readership is down again and so the viscous circle starts up of losing readers, losing interest in amusing a handful and not posting and readership declining from that lack and... If nothing else I've stayed in BNN OR top 20 Most Influential the last couple weeks.

I'm not feeling sorry for myself, I'm a bit pissed to be in a shit economy and getting hammered despite a reputation for quality work and good pricing. Readership will be what it is, maybe better if I do work deserving it, but I need to do stuff I can respect and maybe that's what it just will be. Anyhow, there's one new one up and I'll see what I can do to keep stuff regular.

Oh yeah, a belated Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.